Last night alone

Here in the dark

Here in this room

I should be cherishing

This moment

Like a fine aged wine

I should be drinking the solitude

Celebrating this ending loneliness

Putting to rest the ghosts of

Yesterday

But you are on my mind

I want to rush to your side

Kissing away the sorrows

Upon your chest

I want you to know

Your hands are no longer

Empty

That someone

Understands more than words

Could convey

Someone understands

Those memories that bind

Our hearts to yesterday

Stealing us away from the present

And clouding our hope

Of tomorrow

The recollections of those

Dark nights so severe

Your whole body

Rocked with heartache

And you wondered if you

Would ever see the dawn

Someone understands and

Celebrates the possibilities of

Tomorrow

Someone sees past the

Darkness

Into the light of the soul

Where love flows

Like the river Xanadu

Last night alone

And yet we never were

The meadow, once green and lush,

has turned brown with the flash

of your intense eyes

Gazing into mine

Turning into a kaleidoscope

Of grays and browns

The flowers, once food and fodder,

Are nowhere to be seen

Their bright colors are a distant memory

While yet their dew still freshly

Embeded on my feet

And so I rest

On that wet muzzle

Feeling the hot blasts

Of your breath blowing

On my wings

That I tuck back in protection

Your intense, sad eyes, whispering

Begging me to run free with you

But my fragile wings

Cannot keep pace with

The thundering gallop

Of your internal thoughts

You stand enthrawled

By the beauty of my wings

And the sweetness of nector

On my tongue

Forgetting for a moment

The pasture you ran wild alone

I rest from flight for a moment

Feeling the strength of your muscles

Beneath my feet

But the flowers of the meadow call me

Like the openess of the pasture calls you

But we meet here, daily

In this safe harbor of a stable

If only to share a moment before we

Both break free again to wander

In our own nature

You returning to your homestead

And I the cocoon I broke free from that hung

So delicately in the corner of the barn

Maybe when you return from your field

Your eyes will hold wonder instead of sadness

And I will have the smell of fresh flowers in my hair

(A Living Parable)

Once, in a lonely field of beautiful flowers, there stood a single Mighty Oak.

He was strong.

He was tall.

He was majestic.

The only time he spoke was when the wind blew through his branches and the words became a beautiful song.

The birds would sit upon him, singing along.

With his branches reaching for the sky, he spoke to the Creator of his loneliness and he waited patiently for an answer.

One day, the local farmer planted a Cherry Tree near the Mighty Oak.

She was young.

She was fragile.

She was insecure.

She would twitter away with the birds at the slightest breeze and they responded back in song while eating of her fruit.

The Mighty Oak fell in love with the Cherry Tree, knowing she was a gift from his Creator.

He would speak words of encouragement to the Cherry Tree to help her grow.

He would listen patiently to her knowing she was in the process of maturing.

He quietly showed her how to dig her roots deep into the ground and reach to the Sky in songs of joy.

The Cherry Tree found great comfort in the shadow of the Mighty Oak.

She loved him in return, and learned more of the Creator through him.

For many seasons they grew together in that beautiful field of flowers.

They sang with one another.

They talked about the deep mysteries of life with one another.

Their roots became entwined within one another.

One dark day, a mighty storm came.

The rains poured hard and loosened the ground.

As the winds tore through her branches, the Cherry Tree felt she would be blown away.

But as the storm raged against her, she remained anchored to the earth through the roots of the Mighty Oak.

She realized that after so many years together, they had become like a single tree underneath the ground.

Suddenly, the sky cracked and a light flashed.

The Cherry Tree looked up and saw that her Mighty Oak had been struck by lightning, catching on fire.

So she cried out for someone to save the Mighty Oak.

A downpour arose and put out the fire.

The Cherry Tree let out a sigh of relief, thankf ul for the rain.

As the days went by, the Mighty Oak became more and more silent.

His trunk was scarred from the lightning strike and his leaves began falling to the ground.

The breeze would blow through his branches but he no longer sang.

He just bowed in reverence.

So the Cherry Tree sang to him, and the birds came to rest on his branches.

They sang along with the Cherry Tree and it made the Mighty Oak smile inside.

He tried to speak to the Cherry Tree the best he could, though her sadness made it hard for her to listen.

One clear day, the Mighty Oak whispered to the Cherry Tree telling her to trust the Creator in all things.

He told her she had become a strong and courageous tree through the storm.

The Cherry Tree thanked the Mighty Oak for helping her grow, that she would never forget his love for her and teaching her to understand the Creator better.

Then, the Mighty Oak became silent and the birds flew from his branches as he fell to the ground, forever falling asleep.

The Cherry Tree wept quietly, going deeply inward.

Though sadness filled her heart, she still felt the roots of the Mighty Oak intertwined with hers and knew he would forever be a part of her.

There, in that same lonely field of beautiful flowers, the Cherry Tree stood alone for what felt like forever.

She was taller.

She was stronger.

She was quieter.

She whispered when the wind blew through her branches and her words became a soft song of remembrance.

The birds would sit upon her branches and sing along.

She silently cried out in lonliness to the Creator, and she waited patiently for an answer.

One quiet and sunny day, she saw the local farmer come up the side of the hill.

A song of thankfulness started to rise within her, even though she was uncertain of what the future might hold.

She knew that, whatever the farmer planted, their roots would grow together and she would pass on the message of love embedded within her by the Mighty Oak.